Last month I received the email that I was accepted to hots a Disney Side at Home Celebration. That means that we were going to be one of the lucky families that were going to receive a box full of Disney goodies to have a celebration with friends and show our Disney Side.

Disclosure: My family was invited to attend a private backstage tour and provided tickets to the show to facilitate this review, however all opinions expressed are my own.

We have been a couple of times at Medieval Times, and it is one of our favorite shows to enjoy. When I got the invite to attend a behind the scenes tour I knew we were going to have a great time. Not only we were going to enjoy the show again, but we were going to be able to meet the actors and the best part was seeing the horses up close, because you know we love animals at this house.

The tour started backstage seeing the castle before the crowds get in. We got to see the gift shops, bar and entrance without anyone there just yet. It is huge. It looks smaller with hundreds of people inside every night.

McFarland USA out in theaters today 02/20/15

About the movie

Based on the 1987 true story, “McFarland, USA” follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. Coach White and the McFarland students have a lot to learn about each other but when White starts to realize the boys’ exceptional running ability, things begin to change. Soon something beyond their physical gifts becomes apparent—the power of family relationships, their unwavering commitment to one another and their incredible work ethic. With grit and determination, the unlikely band of runners eventually overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well. Along the way, Coach White realizes that his family finally found a place to call home and both he and his team achieve their own kind of American dream.

McFARLAND, USA opens in theaters everywhere on February 20th!

Kevin Costner on What is a real american story

Kevin Costner was humble and candid during the interview. I did not know that he grew up on my backyard in Ventura County and it was great to hear that he learned a lot about the Mexican people and immigration in this movie.

"Um, I – you know, I've grown up in Ventura, and also in Visalia. And I've driven down these roads. And I saw people working in those fields. I've played and fought and had friends where their families were – were pickers in Saticoy, California, a little Mexican barrioschool that I went to. But again, I didn’t invest the way I did until Niki brought me this movie. And bending down to work and seeing a field go forever, understanding that this is forever, this is every week, this is every day in all kinds of weather, um, the appreciation, um, of who these people are, this is as American story as you can possibly have. There’s no – you think apple pie and baseball’s American? No. McFarland is way more American than any of those things. Those are pastimes. What’s American – maybe I'm gonna get real sentimental, here, because it’s getting dark and Maybe – maybe somebody didn’t want to hear this answer.But there is no American story than parents who are willing to do anything to better their children, to give their children a chance.There’s nothing more American, and it’s been playing out over the last 300 years, here.And so McFarland is not some weird little town, you know, like oh, poor McFarland.Poor McFarland?No.Number one, there’s a mythology around McFarland because their lives changed when they understood that they could be champions.Uh, and repeat that idea.But – but the simplicity – of – of – there’s nothing more noble than a father and a mother, uh, making an opportunity for their child, knowing that their life is gonna be hard. And there’s something very noble about that, to me; something incredibly heroic about that."

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